Stella Maris is an international agency of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that provides pastoral care to seafarers, other maritime workers, and their families. Stella Maris offers practical and pastoral care to all seafarers, regardless of nationality, belief or race. The Apostleship of the Sea in Great Britain is part of an international network known to the maritime world as Stella Maris, working in more than 311 ports served by 216 port chaplains in more than 30 countries around the world.

Name

Founded as 'Apostleship of the Sea' (AoS), the organization and its centers were commonly known as 'Stella Maris' because of their association with the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Our Lady, Star of the Sea Our Lady, Star of the Sea is an ancient title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The words ''Star of the Sea'' are a translation of the Latin title . The title has been in use since at least the early medieval period. Purportedly arising from a sc ...

. In 2020, its name was officially changed to Stella Maris. 'Stella Maris' was also the name of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's 1997 ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'' outlining the purpose and organizational structure of the ministry.

History

The modern movement for a Catholic seafarers' ministry began with several isolated and independent beginnings. In 1891 the

Apostleship of Prayer The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Society of the Catholic Church which encourages Catholics to prayer and action as part of the church's universal mission. The Network provides monthly prayer intentions determined by the Pope. I ...

first posted devotional magazines and books from

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the greate ...

to twelve ships and began enrolling seafarers in a Catholic association. Two years later, The

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and named ...

commenced visiting seafarers in the ports of Bristol, Sunderland, and Tyneside. In the same year a Catholic Seafarers’ Centre opened in Montreal. The Apostleship of the Sea port ministry was formally founded in Glasgow in 1920. At this time Britain had one of the largest merchant fleets in the world, employing many thousands of British seafarers. The Apostleship of the Sea ran large seafarers’ hostels in all the major port towns where seafarers could stay while their ships were in port, often for weeks at a time. Hundreds of volunteers from the local parishes were involved in providing hospitality and entertainment for seafarers in these hostels, which were often full. Subsequently, through changes in technology crews became smaller and spent less time in port resulting in a reduced need for hostels so most contact is now through ships visits and drop-in centres."Our History", AOS-UK
/ref> It was a founding member of the International Christian Maritime Association in 1969. Many of its members in North America and the Caribbean are also members of the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA), and many board members and presidents of NAMMA are also ministers of Stella Maris.

Organization

In every major country, a bishop serves as the Stella Maris episcopal promoter, overseeing the work of the national director. It is the director's responsibility to coordinate the chaplains’ efforts and to assist them in developing their ministries. Each country hosts an annual conference. Tying all these national conferences together is the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. Because Stella Maris' “parishioners” move around the world, it is necessary that their pastors be in touch with one another. A world congress held by the international office ensures this connection between countries and disseminates the pontifical council's policies every 5 years. Stella Maris is a member organisation of the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN).

Ministry

When a ship enters a port inspectors from the national maritime authority may come on board. If the inspectors feel that the ship does not meet international health and safety regulations, they can put it under arrest. The ship may not leave the port until the situation is rectified. In these circumstances, owners may refuse to take responsibility and abandon their ships leaving the crew unpaid and without the means of returning to their home country. Stella Maris is one of the organisations which has provided assistance including food and support sometimes for months to such seafarers. Stella Maris USA operates the Cruise Ship Priest Program for the pastoral care of cruise ship passengers and crew, and to ensure that only valid priests in good standing, who have their Bishop's/Provincial's permission to serve are on board as chaplains. Most of its missions are under the care of Missionaries of St. Charles - Scalabrinian, a congregation that has a specific charism for seafarers and migrants. Stella Maris also works with the Santa Marta Group to assist seafarers and fishermen who have been trafficked or exploited, in situations of modern slavery. Each year on the second Sunday of July the Catholic Church remembers seafarers and prays for them, their families and those who support them. Sea Sunday is Stella Maris' principal fundraising and awareness raising event of the year.

Activities

In 2018, Apostleship of the Sea in Great Britain had 20 port chaplains and 115 ship visiting volunteers. They visited 10,048 ships and assisted 221,056 seafarers and fishermen. A total of 83 Masses were celebrated on ships and 6,200 ships were visited where seafarers were offered welfare assistance. In the Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida, Stella Maris operates seafarer centers at the Talleyrand and

Blount Island Blount Island is an island of approximately on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, nine nautical miles (16.7 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean. One of three public cargo facilities at the Port of Jacksonville is located there, and ...

terminals in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

."Stella Maris Seafarers Ministry", Diocese of St. Augustine
/ref>

References

External links

Apostleship of the Sea Official website
{{Authority control Catholic lay organisations Christian missions to seafarers International organisations based in London International Christian organizations Organisations based in the City of Westminster Religion in the City of Westminster